As senior Tories call for him to play a big role in the campaign, should the party bank on Boris Johnson? February 25, 2015 Charles Lewington, managing director of Hanover Communications, says Yes Giving Boris a prominent role in the campaign may not have a dramatic effect on the election result, but if the Tories are going to win enough seats to form a government (especially in London), they need to use every asset at their disposal. When Boris [...]
HSBC bosses Stuart Gulliver and Douglas Flint apologise to MPs over Swiss private banking scandal February 25, 2015 Stuart Gulliver, HSBC's chief executive and Douglas Flint, the embattled bank's chairman, have apologised for "unacceptable" practices at its Swiss private banking arm. During questioning by the Treasury Select Committee, Gulliver admitted the scandal had caused "damage to trust" in HSBC, while Flint said he felt "shame" and would "take his share of responsibility". However, [...]
Janet Yellen: Markets unmoved amid second day of testimony February 25, 2015 Markets were largely unconcerned during the second day of testimony by Federal reserve chair Janet Yellen, who is speaking before the Senate Bank Committee. The S&P 500 was trading flat today at 2114.97 points, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average also remained flat. In Europe, the FTSE 100 closed down 0.3 per cent, while the French [...]
Mark Carney silent on Bank of England’s mystery dove as he predicts interest rate hikes February 24, 2015 Interest rates will rise gradually over the next two years, Mark Carney told MPs yesterday, playing down the chance of another rate cut. One member of the monetary policy committee (MPC) is tempted to vote for a rate cut, according to the minutes of its last meeting. However, Bank of England governor Carney refused to [...]
HSBC’s Stuart Gulliver set to face MPs on tax evasion February 24, 2015 HSBC chief Stuart Gulliver will face MPs today to give evidence on claims its Swiss private banking arm helped clients evade taxes. Initially it was only the giant bank’s chairman Douglas Flint who had been summoned to the Treasury Select Committee for a 45-minute session. But now both bosses are attending parliament, and they will [...]
Yellen takes patient approach to hike February 24, 2015 FEDERAL Reserve chair Janet Yellen yesterday told the Senate banking committee that the US central bank preparing to consider interest rate hikes “on a meeting-by-meeting basis”. Investors believe the dovish remarks mean a rate hike is not expected before summer.
Greeks submit reform plans: Yanis Varoufakis’ proposals to Brussels – and the points of contention February 24, 2015 The hard work of negotiating a new Greek settlement looked set to begin in earnest yesterday as the Eurogroup ministers accepted Athens’ list of proposals as a starting point for talks. Greece was supposed to send the list to officials on Sunday or Monday, but the letter was finally sent yesterday. It includes changes to tax [...]
UK to send advisers to Ukraine – David Cameron February 24, 2015 Britain is to send military advisers into Ukraine for the first time, the Prime Minister has confirmed. Speaking to before a committee of MPs, David Cameron said the UK would send personnel to the stricken country to support government troops battling separatists. Britain, Cameron said, would be the “strongest pole in the tent.” The Ministry [...]
Our key takeaways from Mark Carney’s speech on UK interest rates February 24, 2015 During a speech to MPs earlier today, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said an interest rate hike before the end of the year looked likely. Reading out highlights from the central bank's quarterly inflation report, he told parliament’s treasury select committee that the rise would take place despite low consumer inflation, which [...]
Yellen: Fed will drop the word “patient” before it hikes interest rates February 24, 2015 The US Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee will lose patience before it hikes interest rates, promised Fed boss Janet Yellen today – although she remained cagey about when that would happen. In prepared remarks to the Senate Banking Committee, she suggested there is no "given point" at which the Federal Open Markets Committee (FOMC) will decide [...]